A new pop-up early voting center debuts at the Santa Ana Civic Center Friday, May 25, 2018 in Santa Ana. The booth is the only one of it’s kind serving Orange County and will be traveling around for the next 10 days allowing people to vote early, drop off ballots, or register to vote.
(Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)

Renters are more worried than homeowners about California’s housing woes.

You do not have to be a pollster to figure this out. But the gap revealed in a new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California shows key differences.

For example, the survey of 1,702 California adults shows 13 percent of renters say real estate costs were their top California concern. Just 7 percent of homeowners felt the same way. One thing homeowners typically possess that renters don’t — the relative certainty of what the roof over your head will cost.

I know California renters tend to be younger, make less money and are more financially crunched than homeowners. And the survey says homeowners lean more conservatively than renters — 38 percent vs. 29 percent. But since this state is only slightly tilted toward homeowners, demographically speaking, these renter sentiments — especially on business-related issues — cannot be ignored.

Please note there was not total disagreement in the poll. Jobs and the economy were cited as the top issues to tackle in the state for renters and homeowners alike.

There was, however, significant disagreement on the importance of immigration issues: 18 percent of homeowners listed it as their top concern vs. 13 percent of renters. And 26 percent of homeowners told pollsters that immigrants are a burden to society vs. 14 percent of renters.

It may be that renters show more sympathy to immigrants — legal or otherwise — because they are more likely to be immigrants themselves or they empathize on an economic level.

Now the institute’s timing for the poll was clearly political with a state primary ahead. Renter and homeowner views differed here, too.

Both groups didn’t care for their lawmakers, especially the D.C. version, with owners a bit more passionate with their disdain.

The Sacramento legislature drew “disapprove” marks from 45 percent of homeowners and 33 percent of renters. Congressional disapproval was 71 percent among homeowners and 62 percent of renters.

That brings us to the upcoming political horse races.

When the pollsters asked likely voters about their primary ballot-box preferences, there was not much difference in top choices in the big statewide races: two Democrats, Gavin Newsom for governor and incumbent Diane Feinstein for U.S. senator.

But the No. 2 preference for governor — who’ll run against the top vote-getter come November — varied: Republican John Cox’s got the homeowners’ nod and Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa from renters.

Perhaps the most intriguing political battles of the year are local races for Congress. And another political divide emerges. Renters decidedly want a Democrat going to the House of representatives while homeowners are essentially a “toss-up” between the two parties.

Please think ahead, too. This renter-homeowner schism isn’t going away any year soon. And it could shift the statewide balance of power on key economic issues — especially housing ones, like rental control or the future of Prop. 13.

Jonathan Lansner has been the Orange County Register's business columnist since 1997 and has been part of the newspaper's coverage of the local business scene since 1986. He is a native New Yorker who is a past national president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Jon lives in Trabuco Canyon -- yes, a homeowner -- and when he's not fiddling with his trusty spreadsheet at work you can likely find him rooting for his beloved Anaheim Ducks or umpiring local lacrosse games.

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